The Trump-Netanyahu meeting on Feb. 4 sent shock waves throughout the world.
President Trump announced a plan for U.S. involvement in Gaza’s redevelopment. The announcement was met with joy by supporters of Israel throughout the world and outrage by those who oppose the Jewish state over concerns about legality.
Trump articulated his vision of a prosperous and peaceful Middle East. Instead of continuing to struggle under economic and political turmoil, Gaza could be developed into a thriving economic hub. The Gazans, who have lived under the terror of Hamas, would be relocated to places where they could rebuild their shattered lives.
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, both visionaries, have given the entire Eastern Hemisphere an opportunity to build a better and more prosperous world.
Turning Gaza into a new Singapore under the auspices of America is not thinking big enough, however. Yes, Gaza should have malls, beachfront hotels, and entertainment venues, but Gaza should really be rebuilt as a major financial center and tax haven, making New York City, Gaza, and Singapore the three major global financial hubs providing 24/7 trading and commerce. This would help the U.S. dollar continue its domination, as two out of three hubs would be controlled by America.
Incredibly, this wouldn’t be the first time that the area known as Gaza and Israel has been a major global financial hub. Prior to the collapse of the Bronze Age during the 12th and 13th centuries BCE, the area was at the center of civilization and a global economy.
The Bronze Age collapse almost biblically occurred during the time of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Great civilizations like the Egyptians, the Hittite Empire (largely present-day Turkey), Mycenaean Greece, and the Minoans of Crete traded crucial copper from Cyprus, Turkey, and Israel, and tin from Europe. These two metals were forged to create the bronze that gave the era its name. At the time, the Phoenicians of the eastern Mediterranean coast acted as a crucial part of the maritime and commercial network that ruled the Bronze Age.
A new Gaza as a financial hub, an alliance of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations, and open and safe shipping routes would provide a crucial link between India and other emerging Asian economies and, hopefully, a revitalized Europe. American military power, financial and technical prominence, and a free-market ethos would ensure this new reality. America would continue to be the world’s dominant economic power, and the U.S. dollar would continue to dominate financial markets for the betterment of billions of people.
The implications of what we have witnessed are profound. This is not just a simple real estate deal for the benefit of American developers or motivated by pure altruism on the part of President Trump. This is a bold strategic move to ensure that America and its allies remain the dominant force in geopolitics and international commerce. In fact, it enhances America’s economic primacy.
It is understandable why China and fair-weather friends are so opposed to this deal—simultaneously benefiting from the U.S. economic colossus while attempting to make the global nucleus of power Brussels and the United Nations, usurping America’s role.
The United States, with the crucial aid of Israel, demonstrates that fortune favors the bold. In less than 500 days since the massacre of Oct. 7, the world has changed profoundly.
Perhaps, one day, the grandchildren of Israel Defense Forces’ soldiers and Hamas terrorists will be trading Swiss franc-denominated bonds instead of bullets. Although this scenario may seem preposterous or even delusional, remember that this would hardly be the first miracle in the history of the Middle East or the Jewish people.
As David Ben-Gurion once said: “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.”
